


The Prom Cliché

by NevermindBye



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Awkward Dancing, Cheap Diet Coke (very important), First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Nervous Erwin, Prom Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 18:04:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3659901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NevermindBye/pseuds/NevermindBye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin may has chosen the wrong date for prom. Erwin may realises this a little late. Meanwhile Levi watches bad horror movies and damns his oblivious best friend. But the night is still young, so are they, and the king may cedes his crown after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Prom Cliché

**Author's Note:**

> Bonjour!  
> This little thingy is greatly inspired by this promt:[Prom Prompt](http://twistedkit.tumblr.com/post/114843889654/prom)  
> And the prompt is by: [twistedkit](http://twistedkit.tumblr.com/)

''God... damn it. Levi! this thing is not working. Maybe it's defect?''

''Seriously, Erwin? A defect bow tie?''

''Arrgh,'' is all Erwin has to say to that. It has been five minutes in front of the mirror but he still hasn't figured out how this thing even worked. How did all the other boys and men manage to tie them correctly? Oh, right, probably their mothers and wives know how to. Erwin's parents are out of town, so he decided to get ready at Levi's place before prom. Afterwards he would pick up his date for tonight, Marie, and drive her to the school's gym, where prom was held every year. Levi doesn't have a date, he says he is 'repulsed' by the idea of a bunch of sweating and awkwardly flirting teenagers in an old gym supervised by a bunch of frustrated middle-aged teachers with non-alcoholic-spiked-probably-by-themselves punch. And sometimes he murmured a 'and nobody asked me anyway' after that. So Erwin was left with the conclusion that Levi might secretly probably maybe wants to go to prom after all, but he could be mistaken. Levi was wearing his sweatpants and an old shirt, the perfect outfit for a night in front of the television with some really bad horror movies on. He gave a great contrast, casually leaning in the door frame, to the prim and proper looking Erwin still trying to figure out how to make the bow tie look halfway decent.

His arms crossed in front of his chest, Levi watches him quietly, his eyes wandering over his best friend's frame lazily. How come some people, like Erwin, always look older, all grown up and handsome when dressing up and others, like himself, look like they stole some clothes from their dad and were playing pretend? He notices how Erwin feels uncomfortable in his suit, the fabric maybe itching in some places, the jacket being too warm to wear on sunny days like today. But he also notices how Erwin's stance had changed. He stands more upright, standing with his legs a little further apart than usual. His hair combed and shiny. The nervousness. The fidgeting. The helplessness. Levi took all of that in. Then a sigh escapes his mouth and he walks towards him, swatting Erwin's fumbling hands away and helping him with the damned bow tie, already. Erwin watches him in awe. The way the slender fingers pull and knot the right ends together so after only a moment the red band resembles a proper bow.

Levi sighs again, resting his pale hands on the lapels above Erwin's softly heaving chest, looking down at shiny, freshly polished shoes.

''Thank you,'' Erwin says and his voice is steadier than before. Levi always had a calming effect on him. They haven't known each other for long, only for two years, but somehow they managed to grow very close in that short span of time nonetheless. Having school everyday, attending the same classes, both not having parents around often, both being a little lonely, maybe, sometimes – those things connected them rather quickly. They had the same group of friends, too. That also helped meeting up outside of school without neglecting their other friends. Friends. Best friends. That's what they are.

''You're welcome,'' Levi says suddenly, quietly, and looks up again, his eyes somewhat determined. He takes a step back and they only then notice how close they had actually gotten – when did that happen? - and the furrow between Levi's thin brows is greater than usual. Erwin raises his hand and places his thumb over it, trying to smooth out the crease. Futile.

''You can still go, you know,'' he says slowly, ''you don't seem very happy about the prospect of shitty horror movies and cheap diet coke.''

The right corner of Levi's mouth pulls up slightly, vaguely resembling a smile. He looks pale but he's warm anyway, always warm, he always had been warm somehow.

''Maybe I'll spike the cheap diet coke with some cheap vodka if I feel especially fancy,'' he says and puts some more distance between him and Erwin. Erwin's hand limply falls back from Levi's face.

They look at each other and Levi nods and his lips form a thin line, even though the corners are turned upwards a little.

''Well, how do I look? Must Marie be ashamed to have me with her on the pictures?,'' Erwin asks and grins brightly, twirling around once.

''With that goofy grin of yours? Definitely,'' Levi gives back and makes a turn to the small coffee table, bending down and picking up the corsage he actually had to buy for Erwin, so he could present it to his date later tonight. Erwin didn't even know he was supposed to give something like that to the girl, nor what flowers or which colors he should pick. Levi had helped him through that, telling him to ask for the color of her dress and stuff. Erwin was hopeless, in more ways than one.

''Now get out, you're interrupting my very important plans for tonight,'' Levi says and literally shoves Erwin out of the living room and towards the entrance door. Erwin laughs and tries to get rid of the angry looking shrimp pushing him around, but only half-heartedly. They liked to bicker and tease each other. It was fun and innocent. Erwin making fun of Levi's height, Levi calling him a variety of insults in return. Much laughter. But they were more than jokes and mockery. They could talk about anything, they could hug things out, they could argue incredibly loudly, they had stupid ideas together, sometimes even good ones, they had planned to open up a circus and travelling around the country, they thought of founding a band called ''Not That Good'' with Erwin singing not that good and Levi playing guitar not that good. Levi could shove him around and call him names and Erwin would look at him and smile fondly.

At the door Levi lets go of him and instead settles down into his signature stance; arms crossed, hip cocked. Erwin struggles with suppressing a laughter.

''Your mobile phone for drunk texts?''

''Check.''

''Money for overpriced but somehow still delicious coffee for after the after show-party?''

''Check.''

''Organ donor card?''

''Levi...''

''Condoms?''

''As if.''

''That's the dream, isn't it? Fulfilling the cliché? Prom king taking the virginity of the prom queen after prom?'' Levi mock laughs. His eyes are tired.

''Not mine. And by the way, I'm not prom king yet.''

''Right, _yet_.'' Erwin ruffles Levi's hair affectionately at that and opens the door. Halfway out he turns around again, a small smile on his lips.

''Thanks,'' he says and relies on Levi understanding what he means.

''Get out,'' Levi says and pushes him out the door again.  
Erwin walks down the driveway, his shoes making clacking noises with every step, burying his hands in the pockets of his pants, creating wrinkles in the fabric already. Levi shakes his head at him. Erwin throws him one last toothy grin and a tiny wave before he's out of sight on the way to his car. Levi remains at the door still, his head against the cool wood of the door frame.

''Have fun,'' he murmurs before closing the door and making his way back to the now empty living room with soundless steps and another sigh.

 

* * *

 

 

Erwin picks Marie up only five minutes late and she doesn't seem to bother the slightest. She looks very pretty, her dress the same color as her eyes, and her hair and make up nicely done. A little too much blusher but apart from that her natural beauty only accentuated. Her soft smile adds up to it. Her parents take a couple of pictures of them standing close to each other in the garden and her mother wipes away happy tears while her father wears sunglasses (Erwin catches him brushing away a stray tear from his cheek anyway). He gets the ''If you hurt my daughter..'' and ''You will bring her back at ten...'' speech and he agrees to everything with a couple of nods and _Yes Sir's._ Then they are dismissed and Erwin drives them to the gym. It's already pretty crowded and they are one of the last couples to arrive. His oldest friends, Mike and Nile, are already waiting for them at the entrance. Mike is loosely holding his date's hand, a lovely girl named Nanaba, and Nile is desperately trying to smooth out his un-ironed dressing pants. If Levi were here he would probably faint at the sight. Fortunately Levi had washed and ironed his every piece of tonight's outfit some days ago, so that there aren't any wrinkles in his pants whatsoever. Levi always has an eye on Erwin and somehow he has the feeling he should thank him properly some day for all he's done. For always being by his side.

Except tonight, because his arm is currently occupied by Marie, who is greeting their friends enthusiastically. Nile nibbles on his lip nervously and mock-kisses her hand in an old-fashioned manner, earning some amused giggles. It's no secret Nile has a thing for her. But he never actually acted on it. Maybe it's to blame on his shyness, or maybe on the fact that Marie prefers Erwin over Nile. He's said time and time again he would ask her ( _later, tomorrow, next Friday after school_ ...) but he never did. And then a couple of weeks before actual prom, she had come up to Erwin one afternoon and had asked him. He'd politely told her he would consider it and then asked both Levi and Nile on what they thought he should do. Nile had said Erwin should definitely say yes, how could he decline that offer? And Levi had just said '' _If she's the one you want to go to prom with, you shouldn't keep her waiting, that's just cruel_ '' and that was that.

Again, they pose for pictures, smile, greet other friends, sit down, listen to some speeches, get food, get drinks, dance a little, sit down again. They laugh and tell stories, walk down memory lane, get tipsy, chat with former teachers, sometime when it was already pitch black outside Nile asked Marie for a dance and it was only Erwin sitting at the table with a glass of un-spiked punch in one hand.

Mike noisily plops down on the chair next to him, looking at the dance floor where Nanaba dances with her friends in a circle, Hanji is there, too.

''What's wrong, Erwin? Nervous if you actually get elected prom king?,'' Mike teases but his voice his too serious for his words. Erwin chuckles anyways and shakes his head.

''I think Nile stole my date,'' he says after some time. Mike turns to face him, his eyes soft.

''I think you let him snitch her away on purpose.'' And somehow it's true. He danced with her, yes, he got her a drink, yes, chatted with her and her friends, yes, but he admittedly isn't a very attentive date. He'ss rather passive come to think of it. Not really initiating any conversations, not throwing in any suggestions for what to do next, nothing of that sort. It was like working down a check list without noticing. Because Erwin still enjoys himself.

''What's Levi doing tonight?,'' Mike asks, looking back to his happy girlfriend spinning around.

''Levi? He's at home. Said he wouldn't want to waste his time here. You know him,'' a lopsided smirk crosses Erwin's lips at the thought of Levi's grumpy face declaring prom was a waste of his money and energy a week ago when they went shopping for Erwin's outfit.

''You sure? I heard him talking some time ago, said something like him definitely not wearing a 'stupid striped tie' to prom like 'any other tasteless dude' or something like that. Made me think he'd come.''

At that Erwin looks up with furrowed brows. Levi had said that?

''When was that?,'' Erwin asks a little stunned.

''Don't know. Like two months ago?''

''He said nobody asked him to go with them, maybe that changed his mind.'' Now it was time for Mike to look confused.

''Petra asked him. You didn't know?'' The concerned look on Mike's face makes Erwin deepen his frown. Petra had asked Levi and he had declined? Why would he do that? Petra was a nice girl, smart and pretty. Erwin couldn't imagine Levi to be considerate of Auruo's feelings, either. Auruo has had a thing for Petra for all of high school and she had eventually given in. Now they were dancing around on the dance floor and both of them seem to be very happy. But there was no way Levi would ever consider Auruo's feelings, he dislikes the guy's guts to no end.

''Huh, weird,'' Erwin murmurs but doesn't think too much of it.

Next comes the election for prom king and queen. Nobody is really surprised Marie gets the title of prom queen. The sparkling tiara on her head looks like an addition to her dress and she only smiles and thanks everybody politely instead of playing the 'oh so surprised' girl flipping out over a piece of plastic. Erwin getting elected king wasn't a surprise either. The principal instructs them to dance and Erwin leads Marie to the dance floor.

Good thing Levi and he had practiced dancing together in Levi's living room a couple of times. It was really awkward at first, they were both dudes and they both wanted to take the lead, but Levi caved in sometime after Erwin had repeatedly stomped on his feet, and allowed Erwin to lead, just because he was the perfect height for partner dancing and they were doing it so Erwin could dance correctly on this particular evening.

It felt weird holding someone else's hand while dancing, a hand that was not as white as paper and not almost as strong as his own. But it felt nice nonetheless, just unfamiliar.

Erwin thinks back to the first time he asked Levi to help him refresh his dancing skills. Without hesitation Levi told him no and to 'go fuck himself'. But Erwin was very determined to make him help him. So he asked him to dance whenever music was playing in the background. Levi had always told him no, or only shook his head in an annoyed manner. He was greatly embarrassed a couple of times, too.

One evening, though, Erwin had dug out his parents' old vinyls and played them so the music sounded through the entire house, he had tried to dance with himself – holding an invisible hand and placing his own on an invisible waist – and he skipped around, hopeful this would somehow help him, too.

He hadn't noticed Levi coming back from the shower until he burst out laughing, holding his stomach with small teardrops in his eyes. Erwin was beet red but defended his honor rigorously, yelling it was because Levi wouldn't want to dance with him and dancing with other dudes that were approximately his height was just not doing it. And he couldn't bring himself to ask some girl, either. Levi then calmed himself and gave in. It was awkward, but they mostly laughed it off. Levi was a good teacher.

And their dancing sessions really had helped. Maybe Erwin should thank him for that, too, sometime.

''What's wrong, Erwin? You seem distant,'' Marie interrupts his train of thought. Erwin looks down at her glowing face, the apples of her cheeks rosy and the smile as radiant as ever.

''Sorry, I was daydreaming,'' he tells her and spins her around. That earns him a giggle and an angry look from the side. His eyes fall on Nile, standing at the back of the gym, staring at them intensely, and maybe a little hurt.

''Nile likes you a lot, you know.'' Marie looks to the side at Erwin's words, avoiding his gaze. The tips of her ears turning a slightly rosier color. Cute.

''Yeah, I know,'' she whispers.

''I don't want to be rude, but it's obvious you like him, too. Why didn't you ask him instead?'' Erwin feels brave asking this question, but it had been on the tip of his tongue for a few weeks already, desperate to be asked.

''Well, I guess the same reason you didn't ask the person you wanted to go with,'' Marie says and looks up again, ''I was scared of rejection, no matter how stupid that might be.''

''What do you mean? I didn't want to ask anybody,'' Erwin shrugs and tilts his head a little in confusion. Marie raises one thin brow.

''Seriously, Erwin? You don't have to pretend anymore, you know. I had a really nice evening, mostly thanks to you. But I think I might ask Nile for a dance, if you don't mind,'' Marie says and lifts her head with an amused smile on her lips. Erwin lets go of her hand and takes a step back, bowing a little to amuse her.

''Of course, milady,'' he says and Marie kisses him on the cheek before walking off to the side, offering Nile her hand. His facial expression immediately changes to wide eyes and a slack jaw before nodding enthusiastically.

Erwin leaves the dance floor alone. He's not really disappointed Marie abandoned him, but somehow he misses a presence by his side. He secretly wishes Levi had come along anyways. It would have been fun listening to him making fun of the sweating crowd and the attempts at dancing. Maybe they would have danced, too, just for the thrill of it. Erwin would have liked a photo of them both in suits, grinning at the camera, his arm around Levi's shoulder, Levi's arm around his waist. He could picture it.

And then it clicks. The feeling he couldn't quite put a finger on. Mike tried to tell him. Marie tried to tell him. God, even Levi probably tried to tell him.

Driven by his sudden realization and his own frustration over his stupidity, Erwin makes a beeline out of the gym. Suddenly he urgently needs some fresh air.

 

* * *

 

 

Levi sits on the couch in the basement, a glass of cheap diet coke in front of him on the old wooden coffee table, next to an empty plate from his cheap frozen pizza he ate half an hour ago. The second film is even worse than the first, he decides, but he can't bring himself to go to bed just yet. It's prom night, not only for those sweating their asses off in the probably overheated gym, but also for him. He had gotten two drunken texts already – both from Hanji – but he couldn't be bothered to reply. The room is dark, all lights turned off, _for the atmosphere_ , Levi keeps telling himself. Not because he is _sullen_ , or something. Of course not...

He had thought about just stopping giving a shit and going after all, after Erwin had left. The suit was waiting for him in his closet, his shoes were polished from the time he tried to make them shine so bright he could see his reflection on them last month. He could just change and drive there. But he doesn't. Not like this. Levi had been so sure...

 _But well, that was done with_ , he shakes his head, his eyes still on the TV screen but his mind wandering off to far away places. Not long and they would go to university. They would attend the same but after this... well, _let-down_ , Levi decides to make sure they were not going to be roommates or anything. Not anymore. He could handle being loose friends, he doesn't want to deny himself that, but as close as they were now? No. He just couldn't do it anymore. Stupid as he was, he had hoped until the very last second Erwin would somehow discover his undying love for him and would shit on prom and spend the night with him instead. But well, that obviously did not happen. Because Erwin was the sort of guy to be crowned prom king and Levi was the sort of guy to be crowned 'the fourth of seven dwarfs - grumpy'.

If only he hadn't spend this fucking huge amount of money on an outfit he would never wear. How could he have been so sure Erwin would ask him? He had interpreted it all wrong. The shopping, the questions, the dancing lessons, all that. Stupid. But he has had enough of those fucking thoughts. Instead he tries to shift his attention back to the still running movie. The movie that was really fucking bad. Like really.

The door bell rings.

Levi thinks about not answering the door. This was his fucking prom night, the most important night of his educational career, _okay_ ? Who dares interrupting such an important event at a time like this? But Levi has a a feeling. A tingling sensation at the pit of his stomach, indicating that this was important. Goosebumps creeping up his spine. He licks his dry lips. Somehow he already knows who was waiting at the other end of the door. So he entangles himself from the blanket and hurries to get the door. Before opening it, he holds his breath. _Please, please, please_.

Erwin is standing in front of him. His bow tie loose around his neck, the first couple of buttons of his shirt opened. His hair is tousled and he seems to be short of breath. A crown on top of his head indicating he was indeed elected king.

Narrow-eyed and with a crinkled nose Levi stares at him. It was too early for prom to be over, was it?

''It was exactly how you anticipated it to be,'' Erwin pants, ''except for the punch. No one even tried to spike it.'' Erwin looks at Levi, he's nervous. Levi pulls the corners of his mouth upwards and after a moment of hesitation he makes room so that Erwin can come in. They go down the stairs leading to the basement in silence.

 

They settle down on the couch together, Levi wordlessly offering him to share the blanket. And they watch horror movies together. Snickering at the cheesiness and nibbling on some bread sticks. It isn't until the credits roll that Erwin turns to really look at Levi. He looks tired in the dim lights. Sad. Slouching his shoulders. After what he got to know from Mike, Erwin feels bad for his best friend not having attended prom along most of their friends. He'd been oblivious. And careless. He should've talked to Levi about prom, about why he doesn't want to go, what the real reason was, about how they-

''What are you staring at, doofus?,'' Levi sneers.

''Wanna dance with the king?,'' Erwin asks, putting on a grin, offering his hand. Levi eyes it skeptically.

''Why would I want that?''

''Because I saved the last dance for you?,'' Erwin offers, standing up and shoving the scabby coffee table against the wall, making room for them to dance. Then he faces Levi who still sits frozen on the couch. He looks very small in his too big sweatpants and the loose shirt.

''C'mere, Levi,'' Erwin says, a gentle smile on his lips. Hesitantly Levi stands up and pads over to where Erwin is waiting for him, his arm still outstreched. Then he places his hand in Erwin's big palm and he pulls him closer to his chest. They've done it countless times already but this is the most intimate it's ever been.

The credits are over and so the annoying tune of the DVD menu keeps playing, filling the room with noise. The lights of the quickly changing pictures cast shadows on their faces, but they dance.

Erwin still in his dress shirt and Levi in an oversized t-shirt, the fabric rough. After having avoided awkward eye contact for a couple of minutes, Levi places his head on Erwin's chest. He faintly smells like sweat and smoke but there is still the distinctive smell of Erwin slightly masking the others.

Erwin only then notices how much he actually had fucked up. This is most likely the worst thing he had done so far. And it was completely unintentional by all means. But he hurt Levi. And that hurts him. Greatly.

He bows down and presses his lips to the crown of Levi's head. Long. Levi seems to lean further into his chest. Nuzzling it. Erwin lets go of Levi's waist, earning him a confused gaze, and reaches up to his head, taking the crown and putting it on Levi's head instead. It's too big on him and it looks quite adorable, but Levi quickly hides his face in Erwin's chest again.

They're not really dancing anymore, just swaying from foot to foot. But it's nice. They continue swaying for six years, probably, before Levi clears his throat and lets go of his hand, looking to the side.

''So, you wanna crash here tonight?,'' he asks, his voice steady.

''If that's okay,'' Erwin replies.

Of course it's okay. He's done it so often the last two years. The way out of their loneliness. Having an entire house to yourself can get lonely quickly. Even more so at night. When you're alone with the darkness in your room. Erwin keeps some spare clothing in Levi's drawer, just in case of an impromptu sleepover like today. So they get changed, Erwin using the bathroom after Levi. Meanwhile Levi sets up the futon next to the couch on which he will sleep like usual. Levi doesn't like sleeping in his own room much. The walls are cold and the shelves almost empty beside some books and knick-knacks.

When Erwin emerges from the bathroom, freshly showered and with still damp hair, he finds Levi already nestled on the couch, back facing him. So Erwin just lies down on the futon, his eyes still on the bundle that is Levi.

''Goodnight, Levi,'' he tries but gets no response. The blanket pulled up to his chin and closing his eyes he thinks to himself that he had really fucked up. Nothing would be the same after this. Nothing. They would go to college, they wouldn't spend as much time together anymore. They would grow apart. A tearless sob escapes his throat. Erwin tries to make it sound like a cough but isn't sure if he actually succeeds in doing that.

Then he hears some rumbling and opens his eyes to see Levi sliding down the couch and crawling to his futon. Erwin raises the blanket, no questions, and Levi crawls in, pressing his back to Erwin's chest. They're incredibly close like this. There is no pretending that this is a friendly gesture. Levi still is the one comforting Erwin. Another quieter sob comes up and he hugs Levi very tightly, his arms squeezing Levi's waist. He buries his nose in Levi's hair, inhaling deeply. How could someone possibly be so dense.

''I should've taken you to prom. I'm sorry,'' he whispers into Levi's hair. It's the least thing he can do. Better than pretending nothing had happened.

A few seconds later Levi turns in Erwin's arms, his hands snaking up between their bodies to his face, softly stroking his cheekbones, tender fingertips drawing invisible lines on his skin, then settling on his jaw. His fingers are unbelievably gentle. The look on his face unbelievably soft as they hold eye contact. But there still is hurt in his eyes before he slowly closes them, his face coming closer.

Levi had taught him how to behave around a girl, how to dance, how to tie a bow tie without looking like a total idiot, even though Erwin still managed to look like one, now Levi is teaching him how to kiss.

They kiss, chastely, softly. Then Levi pulls back, a small smile on his lips. Erwin dips down again and they kiss a little more. The blanket soft and cozy around them, the hairs on their arms standing up and skin brushing skin, they kiss each other's lips. Levi's hands still warmly holding his face, cradling it, and Erwin's fingers combing through Levi's hair lazily. The kiss tastes like the minty toothpaste they both used.

After some kissing Erwin pulls back, a smirk on his face.

''I want a prom picture with my date,'' Erwin declares and grabs his mobile from the pocket of his pants.

''I look like shit, Erwin,'' Levi's brows are furrowed and he tries to protest but Erwin holds him still. The selfie ends up showing Erwin kissing Levi's forehead and Levi nuzzling this cheek with his nose. They both look tired but content. There's a soft rosy hue on both their cheeks. They drift to sleep like that after sharing one last goodnight kiss.

 

* * *

 

Years later, Nile and Marie being married and expecting their first child, Levi looks at a photo album he found in one of the boxes still standing in their small kitchen from the day they moved in together. There are only two photos with the caption 'Prom' written beneath them in elegant handwriting. One showing them in the half dark, tired eyes but happy smiles. The other the morning after. Both shirtless with ruffled hair and closed eyes, making out, Erwin's bow tie around Levi's neck. It was not suited to be glued into a family album, that's for sure. Levi might not have been prom queen, but well, the cliché still stands...

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully you liked this thingy. It was fun writing it and I just had to get it out of my head.  
> If you wanna chat with me about perverted old men, you can do that here: [Tumblr](http://mindless-lott.tumblr.com/)


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